Fine Jewellery and Watches

Sworders Terms & Conditions | Specialist Auctions (February 2024)

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

For Specialist Live Auctions

These conditions of business consist of:

1. Information for Buyers;

2. Terms of Consignment (for Sellers);

3. Terms of Sale (for Bidders and Buyers).

1. INFORMATION FOR BUYERS

Introduction

The following notes are intended to assist Bidders and Buyers, particularly those

that are inexperienced or new to our salerooms. All of our auctions are governed

by our Terms and Conditions and any notices that are displayed in our salerooms or

announced by the Auctioneer at the auction. Our Terms and Conditions are available

for inspection at our salerooms and the Terms of Sale are printed in the back of our

auction catalogues. Our staff will be happy to help you if there is anything in our

Terms and Conditions that you do not fully understand.

Please make sure that you read our Terms of Sale carefully before bidding in the

auction. If your bid is successful, you will be obliged to comply with our Terms of

Sale.

Methods of payment

Lots must be paid for before they are collected or shipped. For those attending the

auction we ask that Lots are paid for on the day of the sale. Methods by which we

accept payment are detailed on our Website, including online payment upon receipt

of your invoice, and these should be paid by 5pm on the Friday following the sale. We

accept cash to an upper limit of 10,000 euros equivalent. Any cheques will need to be

cleared before you can take the Goods away.

Collection and storage

All Lots should be paid for and collected by 5pm on the Friday following the sale.

Commission Bidders should check the success of their bids and arrange payment, and

collection or shipping within this time. For our specialist auctions please refer to the

collection and storage requirements detailed in the catalogue and on our Website,

which specifies the applicable fees.

Agency

As Auctioneers we usually act on behalf of the Seller whose identity, for reasons of

confidentiality, is not normally disclosed. If you buy at auction your contract for the

Goods is with the Seller, not with us as Auctioneer.

Estimates

Estimates are designed to help you gauge what sort of sum might be involved for the

purchase of a particular Lot. Estimates may change and should not be thought of as

the sale Price. The lower estimate may represent the Reserve Price (the minimum Price

for which a Lot may be sold) and will not be below the Reserve Price. Estimates do not

include the Buyer’s Premium or VAT (where chargeable). Estimates are prepared some

time before the auction and may be altered by a saleroom notice or announcement by

the Auctioneer before the auction of the Lot. They are not definitive.

Buyer’s Premium

The Terms of Sale oblige you to pay a Buyer’s Premium at 25% on the Hammer Price

of each Lot purchased, except for our Fine Wine and Spirits auctions when it is 18%. In

addition, VAT is charged on these Premiums (see below).

VAT

Items in our catalogue may be marked with a dagger † or double dagger ‡, which

indicates that VAT is payable by the Buyer on the Hammer Price and the Buyer’s

Premium at either the standard rate (currently 20%) or a reduced rate (currently 5%),

depending upon the legal requirements relating to that Lot.

Lots which do not have either of the above symbols have no VAT payable on the

Hammer Price. This is because such Lots are sold using the Auctioneers’ Margin

Scheme. The VAT included within the Premium is not recoverable as input tax.

Shipping Costs are liable for VAT and are payable by the Buyer.

If you are exporting the items from the UK, you may be able to claim a

reimbursement of the VAT, where:

1. you are using Sworders Delivery service.

In these cases, a zero rated (VAT exempt) invoice can be issued where the following

criteria are met:

a. the items are exported within three months of the date of the auction

b. the total amount of VAT payable would exceed £75 per shipment

There is no administrative charge for clients using Sworders Delivery Service.

If you cancel shipping through Sworders Delivery Service, we will reinstate the VAT,

which must be paid prior to the release of goods.

2. you arrange shipping through a private logistics company, agent or courier and the

following criteria are met:

a. the invoice is paid in full, including VAT

b. the items are exported from the UK within three months of the date of the

auction

c. the certificate of shipment and export documents are provided to us within a year

of the date of export from the UK

d. the total amount of VAT to be claimed exceeds £75

e. you have paid an administrative fee of £25

Inspection of Goods by the Buyer

As we act on behalf of the Seller, we are dependent on information provided by

the Seller about their Goods. We may inspect Lots and will act reasonably in taking

a general view about them. However, we are normally unable to carry out detailed

examinations of Lots to check their condition in the way a Buyer would do. You will

have ample opportunity to inspect the Goods. You must inspect and investigate Lots

that you might wish to bid for. Please note carefully the exclusion of liability for the

description and condition of Lots set out in the Terms of Sale at clauses 12.2 and

12.4.

Condition reports

We may be able to assist Buyers unable to view by emailing a condition report,

but these are based solely on our own opinion and are for guidance only and no

responsibility is accepted for their accuracy. Intending Buyers are strongly encouraged

to view. Condition reports cannot be prepared on the day of the sale.

Shipping of Goods

We offer a delivery service for Lots purchased, either by shipping ourselves, or use of

a third party logistics company. Estimates for Shipping Costs for smaller items can be

calculated pre-sale on our website under each Lot and are based on value, size and

your chosen UK destination. For items purchased the actual cost can be added to your

account and paid online after the sale. If you purchase multiple Lots from the same

auction, we will combine packaging/deliveries to reduce the Shipping Costs. For lots

for which Shipping Costs cannot be automatically calculated, such as furniture, you

can obtain a bespoke Shipping Cost from our website to any destination in the world

either in advance of the sale or after you have purchased.

Estimates of Shipping Costs on our website are based on the low estimate, whilst the

actual cost is based on Hammer Price.

Electrical goods

These are sold as ‘antiques’ only. If you buy electrical Goods for use you must ask a

qualified electrician to check them for compliance with safety regulations before you

use them.

Export of Goods

If you intend to export Goods you must find out:

a. whether an export licence is needed; and

b. if there is a prohibition on importing Goods of that character e.g. because the

Goods contain prohibited materials such as ivory.

Bidding

Bidders are required to register with us before the auction starts. We Reserve the right

to impose a deadline prior to the auction by which you must register or by which we

must receive a Commission bid. If you wish to bid on high value Lots this deadline

may be several days before the auction to allow us sufficient time to carry out the

necessary checks. Lots will be invoiced to the name and address on the registration

form. You will need to provide us with proof of your identity in a form acceptable to

us and such other information as we may require. Please enquire in advance about

our arrangements for telephone or online bidding. Please note that we may refuse to

register you if you do not provide us with all the information and documentation that

we ask for or at our discretion.

Commission bidding

You may leave Commission bids with us indicating the maximum amount to be bid

against a Lot (excluding the Buyers’ Premium and/or any applicable VAT). We will

execute Commission bids as cheaply as possible having regard to the Reserve (if any)

and competing bids. If two Buyers submit identical Commission bids we may prefer

the first bid received (where this can be reasonably ascertained). We recommend

leaving Commission bids online via our Website, though please contact us about

leaving bids by telephone or fax/email. All absentee bids should be received at

least 30 minutes before the auction commences; we cannot guarantee to execute

Commission bids received after this time.

Telephone bidding

If you are unable to come to the auction it may be possible to bid on the telephone

for higher value Lots. Please note that this service is for Lots with an estimate of £500

or more. The number of lines is limited so we would urge serious telephone bidding

only and ask that you be prepared to bid over the top estimate. It is advisable to leave

a maximum covering bid in case we are not able to contact you by telephone. All lines

must be booked and confirmed in writing before the day of the auction and preferably

some time in advance. Telephone bidding involves many variables and whilst we take

every care to ensure the smooth operation of this service, we cannot be held liable if

your bids are missed for any reason.

Online bidding

Any Lots purchased via a live online bidding service will be subject to an additional

Commission charge on the Hammer Price payable by the Bidder, in accordance with

rates specified by the online service. These are charged at 0% while bidding via

Sworders Website. If bidding through other online bidding platforms, you will be

charged additional surcharges, which will be payable to us on top of the Hammer

Price and our Buyer’s Commission at their advertised rate.

Artist Resale Rights

Lots marked with a ▴ indicate the item is subject to additional Artist Resale Right

charges.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Removal of Lots

All Lots are to be removed from the premises by 5.00pm at the latest on the Friday

following each sale. Sworders retain the right to remove Lots remaining after this

time into safe storage, for which a charge will be made.

Sworders Terms & Conditions | Specialist Auctions (February 2024)

Electrical Goods

All electrical Goods offered in this sale have either been tested and certified safe

or unsafe by an appropriately qualified electrician. All electrical Goods certified

unsafe must be re-commissioned by an appropriately qualified electrician and we

recommend those certified safe are similarly re-commissioned.

Post 1950 Upholstered Furniture

All items of furniture included in this sale are offered for sale as works of art. The

items may not comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) Safety Regulations

1988 and for this reason, they should not be used in a private dwelling.

Furniture made of Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia Negra)

To comply with CITES Regulations on Post-1947 furniture made of Brazilian

Rosewood, all post-war rosewood furniture items must have an Article 10 certificate

in place, prior to being offered for sale.

If you are purchasing rosewood furniture for commercial purposes and not solely

for your own use, CITES regulations require you to obtain your own certificate. You

would need to contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and, as part of

the process of obtaining your document, it is a requirement that you have seen sight

of the Sworders’ certificate or are aware of its reference number.

It is therefore the responsibility of commercial Buyers to ensure that they obtain

a copy of the appropriate certificate, or the certificate reference number, after

purchase from Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers. Items are marked with this sign §.